Exelon Corp., along with American Electric Power, American Transmission Co., NorthWestern Energy, MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., and its subsidiary MidAmerican Energy Co., is sponsoring a comprehensive study of the transmission needed.

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8/17/2009 8:00 PM

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CHICAGO (Aug. 18, 2009) - Exelon Corp., along with American Electric Power, American Transmission Co., NorthWestern Energy, MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., and its subsidiary MidAmerican Energy Co., is sponsoring a comprehensive study of the transmission needed in the Upper Midwest to support renewable energy development and transport that energy to consumers in markets to the east.

The sponsors have retained Quanta Technology LLC to evaluate extra-high voltage transmission alternatives and provide recommendations for new transmission development in the Upper Midwest, including North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Quanta will conduct an analysis of transmission alternatives analyzing the impact and quantifying the economic benefits of several transmission options.

The Strategic Midwest Area Transmission Study (SMARTransmission Study) is scheduled for completion in January 2010, and results will be shared with Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator (MISO) and PJM Interconnection, the regional transmission organizations operating in these states.

"The Upper Midwest has some of the richest renewable generation resources in the country, but we need efficient transmission to bring this energy to areas where it's needed most," said Betsy Moler, executive vice president, government affairs & public policy, Exelon.

New transmission projects in and around Illinois have the opportunity to reduce congestion, address pending reliability concerns and facilitate the movement of renewable energy from the Upper Midwest to load centers.

Exelon also continues to move forward with developing a plan for a transmission company and will be prepared to discuss that plan by the end of 2009.